Semiconductor processing in the fabrication of integrated circuitry involves the deposition of layers on semiconductor substrates. Exemplary processes include chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (CVD). CVD and ALD can be conducted within chambers or reactors which retain a single substrate upon a wafer holder or susceptor. One or more precursor gasses are typically provided to a shower head within the chamber which is intended to uniformly provide the reactant gasses substantially homogeneously over the outer surface of the wafer. The precursors react or otherwise manifest in a deposition of a suitable layer atop the substrate. Plasma enhancement may or may not be utilized. If plasma enhancement is utilized, the plasma can be generated and maintained either directly within the chamber or remotely therefrom.
In certain deposition processes, including ALD and CVD, it can be desirable to provide activated species within a reaction chamber. The activated species can be formed from a non-activated component by exposing the component to an energy that the component can absorb. Upon absorbing the energy, an energy state of the component can be lifted so that the component becomes energetically excited, and accordingly becomes an activated species.
One method of providing an activated species within a reaction chamber is to generate the species remotely from the chamber and subsequently flow the species into the chamber. The remote generation can allow a specific apparatus to be set up for generation of the activated species, which can be much simpler than attempting to generate an activated species within a reaction chamber. However, a problem with remote generation is that an activated species can become deactivated and/or recombined in route from the apparatus in which it is generated to a reaction chamber. It is therefore desirable to develop new methods for providing activated species in reaction chambers, and to develop apparatusses suitable for the methods.
The invention was motivated in overcoming the above-described drawbacks, although it is in no way so limited. The invention is only limited by the accompanying claims as literally worded without interpretative or other limiting reference to the specification or drawings, and in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.